Why the NBA in-season tournament is a terrible idea

Why should fans (and players) care about the In Season Tournament?

To be fair, even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver understands that, at best, it will take a few years for the tournament to catch on. “New traditions take time. But all throughout sports, we are seeing new innovations, and now is the time for this NBA in-season tournament.”

Silver’s desire to turn the NBA into the Premier League omits a couple of important differences that make in-season tournaments work in soccer. The first one is obvious: international soccer leagues don’t have postseason tournaments, and certainly, not ones where more than half the teams get in (more than 60 percent if you include the play-in teams).

The league and its broadcast partners all but tell fans that nothing matters besides the playoffs (while lamenting when stars sit out games) on a regular basis, and this new tournament won’t change that.

Top veteran players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant aren’t going to prioritize this over resting up for the postseason, and their max salaries (and numerous endorsements) guarantee that the monetary rewards won’t woo them, either.

And while the younger stars who likely share Anthony Edwards’ opinions on load management will participate, those guys already play in most of the regular season games, so they won’t make this feel any more special than a random game in December.